


Just a Little Bit Chilly

by Doctor_Discord



Series: The Ego Manor [17]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dr. Iplier Comes to the Rescue, Hypothermia, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Prophetic Visions, This Innocent Bean Doesn't Deserve This, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 05:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17016687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/pseuds/Doctor_Discord
Summary: King is a pure soul dedicated to helping his squirrels prepare for the winter. But when he puts them over his own safety, well, that's where we have a problem.





	Just a Little Bit Chilly

**Author's Note:**

> Fourth Day of Christmas Stories!!!! Enjoy one about my pure, innocent son King!

King sniffed, wiping his nose on his cape as he gently cradled one of his squirrels in his other hand. He shivered as he placed her in her nest in the knot of the tree, smiling as she immediately burrowed in, snuggling with all her friends to keep warm in the cold air. “There we go, Vita…” he murmured. He then proceeded to sneeze – _loudly_ – and several of the squirrels in the nest let out startled chirps. “Sorry! Sorry, guys, I-I-I guess I just –” He sneezed again, jerking backwards, and he jumped in surprise when he felt the snow slide from his shoulders. He glanced up at the sky, seemingly just realizing it was snowing. “Wow…guess I have been out here a while…”

Still, King shook his head, sending more snow cascading from his crown, and went back to work, helping those of his precious subjects not yet set for the cold into their winter nests and stocking them with plenty of food to last them for a good long while. At some point during his work he realized he could no longer feel the cold, or really _anything_ , but he just chalked it up to finally getting used to winter. The snow kept coming, and King kept working.

At least, until his shaking hands caused him to drop one of his adolescent squirrels.

“Oh my God!” His hands slipped under his crown to briefly tear at his hair before he bent down, sending more snow slipping off his body, to recover the squealing squirrel writhing in the snow, cupping him between both hands. “Oh, m’so sorry!” He was a bit surprised by his slurring words, but he just shook his head, trying to knock some sense and clarity back into himself. “Are you okay?”

The squirrel just chattered a bit, circling in his hands, and King stood to place him in his own nest. When he was safely inside and warm, King himself shivered violently. He rubbed at his eyes with one hand, alarm bells finally, albeit sluggishly, starting to go off in his head when he felt exactly none of it. He didn’t even feel cold anymore, but he was still shivering nearly constantly. He moved to wrap his cape around him tighter, but his hands were too numb; he couldn’t grip the fabric. He didn’t think it would help much, anyway – it was soaked with the snow.

At some point, King distantly realized he had just been… _standing_ there in the snow. His cape and crown laid in an unceremonious pile on the ground, leaving him in just his soaked t-shirt and even more soaked jeans. He shivered again. In some small corner of his mind he _knew_ something was wrong but he just…couldn’t _quite_ grasp it. Still, he turned vaguely in the direction of the manor and began to walk, leaving his cape and crown behind. Every movement felt sluggish as he stumbled through the snow, thick flakes still falling around him.

He had just reached the outskirts of the backyard when he tripped, not even attempting to brace himself as he fell face-first into the snow. He didn’t move to get back up. He didn’t know how long he laid there, breath coming in rapid gasps. He was _so tired_ …

The last thing he heard before consciousness slipped through his fingers was the back door slamming open and a panicked, distorted shout.

“ _KING!_ ”

* * *

When King woke, the first thing he noticed was that he was _freezing_. The second thing was that he was lying in a bed, and he immediately pulled the thick, fluffy blankets around himself tighter, burrowing deep into them and shivering violently. He flinched when he felt a hand in his hair, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Oh thank God! You’re awake!” King cracked open an eye and was greeted by the blurry, relieved face of Dr. Iplier standing above him. “Oh! Here.” He handed him his glasses, and King was almost reluctant to emerge his hands from his cocoon in order to slip them on his face.

“Th…thanks…” He whimpered, curling tighter into himself. “Wh-what ha-ha-happened?” He winced when his stutter grew worse, pulling the blankets over his head.

He heard Dr. Iplier sigh, and then his – _very_ warm – hand left his head. King was almost tempted to call it back. “You gave us one Hell of a scare, that’s what happened. You’ve got severe hypothermia, King. I have no idea how long you were lying in the snow, but by the time I reached you I almost couldn’t see you under the layer of snow. Thank God you wear such a bright colored shirt.” There was a pause, and his next words sounded slightly muffled, as if his hands were covering his face. “If the Host hadn’t come barging through my door, panicking about a vision of you…you nearly _died_ , King. When I found you, your skin was practically _blue_ , you had stopped shivering at some point, I could just barely find your pulse…in other words, you already had one foot in the grave. If I hadn’t found you when I did, you _would_ have died.”

King shivered again, shifting deeper under the blankets. “M’sorry. Did-did-didn’t mean too…”

Dr. Iplier’s next sigh was filled with exasperation. “What were you _thinking_ , King? In order for all the symptoms I listed to even exists, you would’ve had to been out there for a _long_ time. What were you even doing?”

King finally peeked his head out from beneath the blankets. “M-my squirrels…they n-needed me…”

Dr. Iplier raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and clearly unimpressed. “I admire your dedication, King, but they _are_ wild animals, and they clearly got on just fine before they found you. They don’t _need_ you, at least not completely. I’m not saying you don’t help immensely, but, every once in a while, let nature do its own thing. Especially when it comes as a detriment to your own health. Okay?”

King shivered violently, and he whined, shifting onto his knees and pressing his face in between them, pulling the blankets completely back over him. “…Okay…”

“Before you go back to sleep, I need you to drink this. Oh, and tell me where your cape and crown is so I can get Silver to go out and get them. You’ll be needing the cape, well, once it’s dry of course.”

King obediently sat up, propping his back up against the pillows, and gratefully took the mug Dr. Iplier was handing him between his hands, sighing with relief at how warm it was. He let out a pleased groan as he took a sip, the hot chocolate warming him up from the inside out. He rattled off vague directions of where his stuff might be, considering he didn’t remember taking them off in the first place. He caught Dr. Iplier’s wrist before he was able to move away, noticing how the doctor immediately covered his hand with his own in an attempt to warm his fingers. “…Thank you.”

Dr. Iplier smiled, them ruffled King’s hair. “Finish that, then get some sleep. You’ll need it, otherwise you’re going to have a bitch of a cold for Christmas. I’ll be right back.” King nodded, then snuggled back down in the blankets, cupping the mug with both hands again.

And, for once in his life, he considered _maybe_ letting his squirrels take care of themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> King is so pure, he doesn't deserve this, but I did it anyway! I hope ye enjoyed, as always, and I hope you're enjoying this whole series so far! Tomorrow's story will be another one about Dr. Iplier and the Host because Goddammit I love the Host and any excuse to make him a flustered mess I'm gonna TAKE. See you then!


End file.
